Sometimes a game idea just won't shake out of my head until I've actually seen it with my own eyes. You can follow one example of this on the Spheres of Influence tag, which has morphed a bit in terms of mechanics, but generally kept the same premise: Cards representing influential people who influence other people toward their own orientation.

The whole thing has a science fiction flavor laid on top of it, like the galactic senate in Star Wars. But I wanted these cards to have a very different look. I'm much more inspired by Iain M. Banks' Culture novels than anything in movies or TV at the moment. I like the sense of far out post-human interstellar congresses hashing out details of galactic civilization.

The problem is art. I can't spring the dough for a big art budget on my own, and my illustration skills are quite nil. I do know photoshop, though, and I have a big supply of stock art, and I know where to find CC-licensed photography. Maybe I can put something together?

The icons don't mean anything right now, they're just placeholders for proof of concept. I was going for a mix of lenticular printing, holographic projection, and printed currency. I dunno if it works. What do you think?